Bumps, Bruises and Land mines

As an entrepreneur you will inevitably hit some bumps, roadblocks and the occasional land mine. It just goes with the territory. I always try to find a lesson to learn in the hopes of avoiding a similar situation (mistake) down the line. Hence my mantra "Everything happens for a reason". However, it occurs to me, the phrase "Shit Happens" had to have come from some place. Sometimes shit does just happen - and there is no lesson.

Read more: Fight the Fight until you Can’t – Then Get up – and Fight Again

You can analyze the situation until your brain hurts and in the end it gets you no where. Or does it. Maybe the lesson you learned is that you made a mistake and the world didn't end. Maybe you're supposed to get more comfortable with failure to give yourself the courage to take bigger risks. After all, no one achieves greatness while sitting in their comfort zone.

Somehow you have to find the drive inside to move on. It takes a certain person to start their own company and it is that drive that picks you up when you get down. I joked with a friend last week and said "who knew it would be this hard to launch a global cosmetics company!" half in jest half not - and we laughed. But I was still in a rut.

Read more: Darkest before the Dawn

Then three days later I was at a cocktail party and someone reintroduced herself and said "you're the one with the cosmetics company - I love your stuff...."

For the first time ever someone knew me for my skin care line first and not for my finance career. It felt amazing and was an incredible moment. Even better is she has no idea she got me out of my rut. Tennessee Williams' quote of depending on the kindness of strangers comes to mind.

So too does Vera Wang, "my life has been defined far more by my failures ....".